Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Chris Tichenor compiled an excellent list of all the products released by TSR for Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons between 1974 and 1988, which I've reproduced below. What I like most about this list is the way it reveals trends in both the kinds of products TSR was publishing and the way that D&D was conceived of by the company. Tomorrow sometime, I'll post my own year-by-year thoughts about this list, but do feel free to make your own comments about it beforehand. I'm curious to see how much intersection there is between my own opinions on this matter and that of my readers.

Adventures: B1 In Search of the UnknownD1 Descent into the Depths of the EarthD2 The Shrine of the Kuo-ToaD3 Vault of the DrowG1 Steading of the Hill Giant ChiefG2 The Glacial Rift of the Front Giant JarlG3 Hall of the Fire Giant KingS1 Tomb of Horrors

Adventures: A2 Secret of the Slavers StockadeA3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave LordsA4 In the Dungeon of the Slave LordsB3 Palace of the Silver PrincessD1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (re-print)G1-2-3 Against the Giants (re-print)I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden CityL1 The Secret of Bone HillU1 The Sinister Secret of SaltmarshX1 The Isle of Dread

1982: Accessories: Monster Cards, Sets 1-4

Adventures: B4 The Lost CityI2 Tomb of the Lizard KingI3 PharoahN1 Against the Cult of the Reptile GodS4 Lost Caverns of TsojcanthU2 Danger at DunwaterWG4 The Forgotten Temple of TharizdunX2 Castle Amber (Chateau d’ Amberville)X3 Curse of Xanathon

Adventures: B5 Horror on the HillEX1 DungeonlandEX2 The Land Beyond the Magic MirrorI4 Oasis of the White PalmI5 Lost Tomb of MartekI6 RavenloftL2 The Assassin’s KnotM1 Blizzard PassM2 Maze of the Riddling MinotaurO1 The Gem and the StaffU3 The Final EnemyUK1 Beyond the Crystal CaveUK2 The SentinelX4 Master of the Desert NomadsX5 Temple of Death

1984: Boxed Sets: Dungeons & Dragons Set 3: Companion Rules

Accessories: AC2 Combat Shield & Mini-adventureAC3 3-D Dragon Tiles featuring The Kidnapping of Princess ArlenaAC4 The Book of Marvelous MagicAC5 Player Character Record Sheets (same format, different cover art as 1981 sheets)

Adventures:B6 The Veiled SocietyB7 RahasiaB8 Journey to the RockBSOLO Ghost of Lion CastleC3 The Lost Island of CastanamirC4 To Find a KingCB1 Conan Unchained!CB2 Conan Against Darkness!CM1 Test of the WarlordsCM2 Death’s RideCM3 Sabre RiverDL1 Dragons of DespairDL2 Dragons of FlameDL3 Dragons of HopeDL4 Dragons of DesolationDL5 Dragons of MysteryMV1 Midnight on Dagger AlleyN2 The Forest OracleO2 Blade of VengeanceUK3 The GauntletUK4 When a Star FallsUK5 Eye of the SerpentUK6 All that Glitters…WG5 Mordenkainen’s Fantastic AdventureX6 Quagmire!X7 The War Rafts of KronX8 Drums on Fire MountainXL1 Quest for the HeartstoneXSOLO Lathan’s Gold

Adventures: B9 Castle Caldwell and BeyondC5 The Bane of LlywelynCA1 Swords of the UndercityCM4 Earthshaker!CM5 Mystery of the Snow PearlsCM6 Where Chaos ReignsDL6 Dragons of IceDL7 Dragons of LightDL8 Dragons of WarDL9 Dragons of DeceitDL10 Dragons of DreamsDL11 Dragons of GloryH1 Bloodstone PassI7 Baltron’s BeaconM1 Into the MaelstromT1-4 The Temple of Elemental EvilUK7 Dark Clouds GatherWG6 Isle of the ApeX9 The Savage CoastX10 Red Arrow, Black ShieldXS2 Thunderdelve Mountain,

1986: Hardbacks: Dungeoneer’s Survival GuideWilderness Survival Guide

Boxed Sets: Dungeons & Dragons Set 5: Immortal Rules

Accessories:AC9 Creature CatalogueREF2 Character Record SheetsREF3 Book of Lairs

Adventures: A1-4 Scourge of the Slavelords (re-print)B10 Night’s Dark TerrorCA2 Swords of DeceitCM7 The Tree of LifeDA1 Adventures in BlackmoorDA2 Temple of the FrogDL12 Dragons of FaithDL13 Dragons of TruthDL14 Dragons of TriumphGDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders (re-print)H2 The Mines of BloodstoneI8 Ravager of TimeI9 Day of Al’AkbarI10 Ravenloft II: The House on Griffon HillIM1 Immortal StormM2 Vengeance of AlphaksM3 Twilight CallingN3 Destiny of KingsN4 Treasure HuntOA1 Swords of DaimyoOA2 Night of the Seven SwordsRS1 Red Sonya UnconqueredX11 Saga of the Shadow Lord

1987: Hardbacks:Dragonlance AdventuresManual of the Planes

Boxed Sets: Forgotten Realms CampaignKara Tur, the Eastern Lands

Acessories: AC10 Bestiary of Dragons and GiantsAC11 The Book of Wondrous InventionsFR1 Waterdeep and the NorthFR2 MoonshaeGAZ1 The Grand Duchy of KarameikosGAZ2 The Emirates of YlaruamGAZ3 The Principalities of GlantriGAZ4 The Kingdom of IerendiREF4 Book of Lairs II

Adventures: B1-9 In Search of Adventure (re-print)C6 Official RPGA Tourney HandbookCM8 The Endless StairCM9 Legacy of BloodDA3 City of the GodsDA4 Duchy of TenDQ1 The Shattered StatueH3 The Bloodstone WarsI3-5 Desert of DesolationI11 NeedleI12 Egg of the PhoenixI13 Adventure Pack IIM2 The Wrath of OlympusIM3 The Best of IntentionsM4 Five Coins for a KingdomM5 Talons of NightN5 Under IllefarnOA3 Ochimo: The Spirit WarriorOA4 Blood of the YakuzaS1-4 Realms of Horror (re-print)X12 Skarda’s MirrorX13 Crown of Ancient Glory

1988: Hardbacks: Greyhawk Adventures

Boxed Sets: City System (orange box Waterdeep set)

Accessories: DM's Design KitFR3 Empires of the SandsFR4 The MagisterFR5 The Savage FrontierFR6 Dreams of the Red WizardsGAZ5 The Elves of AlfhiemGAZ6 The Dwarves of RockhomeGAZ7 The Northern ReachesGAZ8 The Five ShiresGAZ9 The Minrothad GuildsGAZ10 The Orcs of TharREF5 Lords of Darkness

Adventures: DL15 Mists of KrynnDL16 World of KrynnFRC1 Ruins of AdventureH4 Throne of BloodstoneI14 Swords of the Iron LegionOA5 Mad Monkey vs. the Dragon ClawOP1 Tales of the Outer PlanesWG7 Castle Greyhawk

Its interesting to note how the production emphasis switched from stuff like Geomorphs, Monster & Treasure assortments, and site-based adventures over to stuff like story-based module series and campaign-setting splats 10 years later.

Guess which ones I still use today, and which ones sit, dusty and neglected, in a boxes at the back of my games closet? :)

People organize their thoughts all sorts of ways - visually, alphabetically, etc. I remember the scene from High Fidelity, when the main character decides he's going to re-organize his record collection biographically. Me? I think chronologically for some reason.

Not just D&D products, but books, records... when I'm doing research in my law practice, I always read the sources chronologically. I get annoyed when anthologies (literary, musical, or otherwise) are organized in some order other than chronologically - one of the reasons I love the newer Elric and Conan compilations.

So that's why I did it that way. That said, it really helps to see the trends in the type of products TSR was putting out for D&D over the years.

And Flighty Games, the '84-'87 peak of production during the 1e years was NOTHING compared to what TSR was pumping out for 2e around '93-'95. A mere drop in the bucket.

Also, I probably should have listed the Monster Cards from 1982 individually. Otherwise, it makes it look like there were fewer products produced in 1982 than there really was.

Another also, like I said in the linked thread, I don't list limited-run products like RPGA modules. Most of those were reproduced in standard run products anyway. (RPGA1 & RPGA2 were combined into B7, etc.)

Word verification: slysmat - the bad guys in Dr. Who... or was it Land of the Lost?

One thing I've always wondered is why the Monster Manual came out before the Player's Handbook, but at roughly the same time as the Holmes edition. Seemed odd to me, since the MM wasn't all that compatible with Holmes (as I recall).

It's interesting to see how the products, say 1984 and prior, were more sandbox and setting. In 1984/1985, you have the story-based adventures (DL, CB et al) and "pre-defined worlds" (GAZ) being introduced. Plus, you start seeing the hardbacks (of questionable value) being printed, like OE, DSG and WSG.

Wasn't EGG ousted in 1985/6?

Someone around here knows why the MM was published first, there was a reason why that was done, was it because it was the easiest to do?

Balrog - the DMG screen from 1979 had both Otus and Trampier art. The Otus art was what you saw in the packaging, while the Trampier art was what you saw when you unfolded it and used it.

Paladin - yes, the MM came out first because it was easiest to compile and was compatible with what was already out. Actually, if you look at some humanoid ACs, alignments, and some of the psionics mentioned, the MM is actually more compatible with OD&D than AD&D.

I started playing n 1978...imagine buying G1-3 and D1-3 off the shelf and reading them cold....wow! That was a great summer! We ran B1 because it was all we had...then immediately went through S1 (of course) since we didnt' have anything else to run (no one in our group had written any of our own adventures. Bit of a culture shock. Seems quite logical then that most of my hombrews that year ended up looking like an ungodly amalgamation of B1, S1 and G1 (Using the Dungeon geomorphs for the dungeon, of course).

Very Interesting. A few observations:1. As already pointed out, the early years are very utilitarian, sandbox-focused products - stuff that can get dropped in any campaign (Geomorphs, Monster & Treasure Assortments)

3. After 1980, the strong showing of the other D&D line - B, X, CM and M adventures and GAZ's - every year.

4. I never realized that UK3-6 came out the same year that Dragonlance began.

5. 1983 looks like a pivotal year - the release of the Mentzer boxed sets, such diverse adventures as Dungeonland and The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror vs Ravenloft, the beginning of the UK series and the continuation of the Desert of Desolation series.

Was there any rational reason to split the line into B/X D&D and AD&D? It makes little sense from a marketing point of view. TSR just cannibalized it's own market and caused confusion with it's customers base.I've always suspected it was an ill thought out compromise reached to appease the competing personalities at TSR.

Re: MM first. This makes sense because the monster presentation in OD&D was about the most crippling thing to deal with (basic stats in 3LB, variable damage in Greyhawk... the split-apart presentation continued in Blackmoor, etc.). When I turn to OD&D, the one thing I sort of cry out for is a unified monster listing including attacks & damage in one place.

Re: 1978. Definitely the annus mirabilis of D&D adventures publishing, but I suspect that was a backlog of well-worn tournament adventures that it finally dawned on someone could be printed & sold. Compare to any band's first album (years in the making) vs. later albums.

It's very interesting comparing this timeline to my own remembered timeline, and discovering some discrepancies. Like I can remember playing with a home made book of UA material photocopied out of Dragon magazines as late as 87 or 88, but apparently UA came out 3 years earlier. I suspect I was just broke. And I never even knew there was a MMII for 1e.

@RPGObject_chuck yes exactly, I photocopied the articles out of Dragon as they came out, and compiled them into a book, and never actually bought UA. But if you had asked me to guess when UA came out before I saw this list, I would have guessed much later than it actually did.

Actually, looking over the list now I realize how little stuff I actually bought. I got all my supplemental material, including plenty of modules to run. The last D&D hardback I bought was Fiend Folio, and I think I may have owned all of three separately published modules (B1, which came in my Holmes, S3 because I loved SF, and it was a great taste I totally wanted to get all over my D&D, and X1 because hey, dinosaurs!)

RPG Objects Chuck said: "I really find the periods where they were releasing one hardcover a year, along with a boxed set or two, interesting.

I'm not sure a company could survive on that type of production schedule.

But as someone who thinks about the business of games, its fascinating."

You have to remember, this isn't the TSR of the 90's. They were putting out much, much more than D&D during this time period... war games (Tractics, Dawn Patrol, etc.), board games (Divine Right, Dungeon!, etc.), RPGs (Empire of the Petal Throne, Metamorphosis Alpha, Star Frontiers, etc.).

D&D probably didn't become a majority of the product they were producing until the mid-80's, and the other games remained a major portion of their product until the early 90's.

Chris: "You have to remember, this isn't the TSR of the 90's. They were putting out much, much more than D&D during this time period... war games (Tractics, Dawn Patrol, etc.), board games (Divine Right, Dungeon!, etc.), RPGs (Empire of the Petal Throne, Metamorphosis Alpha, Star Frontiers, etc.)."

No I was aware of that, not the least of which because I was a huge fan of many of those games.

My assumption was that D&D always paid the bills.

My basic economic common sense tells me if any of those other game lines had contributed significantly to the bottom line, they would have never been discontinued.

@John Fletcher: "Let me rephrase my question. Why, instead of continuing to use the basic set as a vehicle to sell people AD&D (as the Holmes set explicitly stated) did TSR create the parallel D&D line of product?"

My understanding is that it was a tactic to avoid paying Dave Arneson royalties. They could assert that the two lines were separate products and therefore only award Arneson with money from the "lesser", non-AD&D line.

According to the copyright dates and Lawrence Schick's Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role Playing Games, the Moldvay Basic and Cook/Marsh Expert Sets came out in 1980 rather than 1981. Does the author of the list have other information to say it actually came out in 1981?

As for why the D&D and AD&D lines were split, I had read in several sources over the years that the split came about as a result of the Gygax/Arneson dispute over D&D royalties. When Gygax wrote AD&D, Arneson's name was not credited for authorship for the book meaning he wasn't entitled to any money from the publishing of the line. Arneson sued TSR and the continuance of the D&D line was the result whether as part of the settlement or just a way to placate Arneson. Of course, there's a certain amount of speculation to this as the actual settlement between Arneson and TSR was sealed and the parties ordered/agreed not to disclose it. If anyone has any more or less information about this I'd love to hear about it. Sounds like a good investigation, James, to set the record straight.

According to the copyright dates and Lawrence Schick's Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role Playing Games, the Moldvay Basic and Cook/Marsh Expert Sets came out in 1980 rather than 1981. Does the author of the list have other information to say it actually came out in 1981?

This is one of those cases where the stated copyright date is in contradiction to other statements in the very same book. My copy of Moldvay Basic includes the note "First Printing -- January 1981," even though there is other evidence that TSR copyrighted it in 1980.

As for the Arneson suits, the settlement terms of those still remain sealed to this day. Whether it'd be possible to open them now that many of the principals are deceased, I don't know. That'd require more legwork than I'm capable of doing at the moment, alas.

Actually, based on a document Joe The Lawyer posted a while back, Arneson did get royalty rights to things like Monster Manual II--he apparently was supposed to get a 2.5% royalty on any D&D product, and the courts ruled AD&D counted as well as D&D, including books that were not written by Arneson. (The court case ruled in favor of Dave Arneson).

Check this link out--you need to have an EnWorld account to read the attachment though:

(I can't say I totally agree with the judgment either--I can see why Gary and Dave had disagreements about the royalties. I think Dave wanted what was fair, but I think Gary felt it wasn't fair for Arneson to get rights to every single derivative product, especially ones Arneson didn't have any input into).

So I don't believe "Basic D&D" kept being produced solely to appease royalties. It is interesting to see the 3 successive releases over such a short time period. I guess they really wanted to get the "right version" created. The Metzer version was the most "Stable", lasting until that big boxed set in 1992 or so...

Thanks for the replies. I have long suspected B/X D&D existed for internal political reasons. Continuing to suggest "good" sales as a reason for the line doesn't wash in my experience. Except for the Basic Set which was a gateway to AD&D, the other regular D&D products were not great sellers. Customers would notice there were not AD&D and put them back on the shelf. If they'd had been branded AD&D they would have sold.

Last time I checked, the local distributor still had D&D (and Conan) modules from the 80s & 90s!

An interesting trends also worth looking at is the length of the modules as they change over time, reflecting, I think, a shift in emphasis from site-based adventures (even when tied together in a loose series) toward story-based scenarios with detailed backgrounds:

I list modules by page count then within a single count, alphabetically (and ignore the tourney versions):

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